No's in 16 Notes
by Snooperism
Summary: “James, if you’re asking me out, I only have one thing to say to you.” “You’re going to say ‘no’, aren’t you?” JPLE 7th year, and the year afterwards


For those who read "And So It Begins"... I'm trying to work on it! I swear! I was just working on it! I've just got other things to do. Like homework. And original stories. My new one is my baby... my _precioussssssss_... sorry. anyways.

**Disclaimer: Yeah. Not mine.**

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**No's in 16 Notes**

_September_

He'd been acting strangely all year. He'd actually been leaving her be… _odd_… and he'd hadn't asked her out once- yes, not ONCE!

She was starting to wonder if the real James Potter had been kidnapped and was trapped somewhere in the middle of nowhere, perhaps now being sacrificed to a heathen Sun God.

This made Lily smile.

"Evans! Oi, EVANS!"

Oh no. She _knew_ it was too good to be true!

Lily spun around and gave James a dark, evil glare. "POTTER! NO! I WILL **NOT** GO OUT WITH YOU! I THOUGHT I GOT THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK HEAD!" Then she spun back around and immediately fell flat on her face.

James looked positively perplexed. "…I was only going to tell her that her shoelace was untied…"

---

_October _

"Lily, I need your opinion on something."

These were some of the scariest words on the planet when exiting the mouth of James Potter.

Lily froze in her spot, refusing to turn around, and she said, "I really want to say no, but as it's that time of year, curiosity is getting the better of me." And so she turned around.

And laughed- she laughed so hard she snorted.

Because James Potter, Mr. Star Quidditch Player himself, was wearing a witch's dress robes, glasses, and had taken the time to draw thin wrinkles on his face. He frowned, crossed his arms, and asked, "Do I look too much like McGonagall that she'll give me detention until graduation?"

Lily laughed. "No."

James grinned and then inspected his robes more thoroughly. "And…" He sighed and looked at Lily pathetically. "Do these robes make me look fat?"

Of course, Lily just lost it at that, as can be expected.

---

_December_

"Hit me."

"You sure about that? You've got an awful lot there, Prongsy."

"Damn sure, mate. Give me a hit. Now."

"Your choice…" Sirius raised his eyebrows and slapped down a card face down to James' pile of cards. James looked at it from underneath and smiled, passing his hand over his cards to signal that he had enough.

Remus looked between his three friends curiously and said as Sirius asked him if he wanted a hit, "I'm set."

When asked, Peter nodded quickly, and as Sirius flipped over a card to him, he looked at it cautiously, and groaned. "BUGGER!" He turned over his cards and sighed. "I bust."

The other three looked at each other warily- _cue "The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly"_- and Sirius flipped over his cards. "Twenty," he said with a sly smirk on his face.

Remus raised an eyebrow as he turned over his cards. "Twenty," he said casually.

The heat turned on James, who began to grin.

Everyone's smiles fell instantly.

"You didn't…!" said Sirius, looking absolutely stunned.

James smirked in a way that only he could smirk as he said, "Oh, but I did." One by one, he turned over his cards- _two, three, four, ace, jack_- "Gentlemen… I do believe that's twenty-one."

"No, that's twenty." Lily was peering over James' shoulder, observing the game the boys were having on the floor of the common room, and frowned. "Two, three, four, and an ace make ten, and with a jack, that's twenty."

The boys stared blankly at Lily for a moment while James scowled at her. "I'm starting to dislike you, Lily Evans," he said.

She smiled. "Oh dear, I hope I won't lose any sleep from depression!" she said in mock-worry.

"My point exactly."

---

_January_

"Lily, is it the New Year yet?"

"No. It isn't."

_Sigh_. "…How about now?"

"Nope. Not yet."

"Alright then." _YAAAAWN_. "How about… ohhh… riiiiight… now? Is it the New Year's now?"

"No. Stop asking me every five seconds, James. And no, you can't send anybody else to ask me every five seconds either, ESPECIALLY Black!"

"Ohhh…" James sighed in frustration and stared at Lily, who was reading a book. All he _really_ wanted was to try that sparkling wine she had brought from the Muggle world- hence the asking every five seconds. He looked between her, the glasses, and the tall, elegant bottles, and sighed loudly. "Liiiiilllllyyyy…"

"NO. Merlin's beard, James, it's only 10:30! It won't be the New Year for an hour and a half!" ranted Lily. "Why don't you go find some _other_ way to spend your time besides sighing over the sparkling wine?"

James had the most brilliant idea in the world.

--

"JAMES POTTER! I DID **NOT** MEAN FOR YOU TO THROW A SPARKLING WINE PARTY WITH YOUR FRIENDS IN THE HEAD'S COMMON ROOM AND… my God, what have you done to poor Peter?"

"Oh… well…"

"He'll be OK, Evans. He's a trooper!"

"I'm not sure he should have drank all that butterbeer, though…"

---

_February_

"Hey, hey, Lilykins." James grinned mischievously at Lily as he swung an arm around her. "Guess what today is?"

Lily was suddenly wishing that you _could_ Apparate in and out of Hogwarts as she asked, "…What?"

James grinned roguishly. "It's…"

Lily cringed and got ready to cover her head for an explosion of confetti and color that she just _knew_ was coming her way.

Then she heard Sirius whisper in her other ear, "Hey Evans… what's the matter? Feel ill?"

She felt a wave of relief wash over her and opened her eyes to answer him, when suddenly three firecrackers exploded out about five inches from her face, and she screamed like she had seen someone be murdered.

"HAPPY PRESIDENT'S DAY, LILY!" cheered James and Sirius together, laughing heartily at the look on Lily's face.

"MERLIN'S BEARD! Potter, Black, I ought to give you detention!" snapped Lily before she replayed the events in her head. "…President's Day?"

"It's an American holiday!" said Sirius with a grin. "We're being diverse!"

"Yeah Lily, don't you want to celebrate and be diverse with us?" asked James, conjuring up party hats and offering one to Lily.

Lily sighed. "Thanks, but no thanks. I've had enough excitement for one day."

James and Sirius exchanged a look and shrugged. "More cake for us!"

---

_April_

"Lily? Do you have a moment?"

Lily rolled her eyes and smiled. "James, I wasn't aware that a moment was something you could possess," she said with a faint smirk.

James grinned and threw an arm around her. "Yes. Well. I just had one of my more brilliant ideas just now as I saw you walking by… and…" He smiled vaguely. "Lily, have you ever been down to the kitchens?"

Lily raised an eyebrow. "No," she replied with a curious smile. "Why?"

"Well… perhaps one Head might join another Head for a meal in the kitchens on Saturday, as no one will miss us, except for me, of course, I'm not sure what Peter or Sirius or Remus will do without me…" commented James casually.

Lily chuckled lightly. "James, if you're asking me out, I only have one thing to say to you."

James' smile fell drastically. "You're going to say 'no', aren't you?" he asked.

Lily smiled widely. "No…" she said with a grin.

"No?" repeated James.

Lily laughed. "Yes," she said.

"_Yes_?" breathed James, scarcely believing his ears.

Lily nodded and as she walked away, she heard the distinct sound of James whooping for joy and his yells of, "SHE SAID YES!!!"

---

_June_

He was watching her from behind his invisibility cloak; watching her pack her things before they left- forever. He sighed and pulled off the cloak, letting it fall on the floor around his ankles and walked behind her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her on the cheek. There were tears rolling down her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing's wrong," she lied.

He raised an eyebrow. "Nothing?"

"No."

"I'm having a hard time believing that," commented James, stroking Lily's hair subconsciously.

Lily hesitated for a moment and then she said, "It's so hard to believe that we're leaving already. It seems just like yesterday that I found out I was a witch, and now…" She looked down at the floor and choked down a sob. "I don't want to leave. Is that selfish?"

"Of course not," murmured James, pulling Lily around to face him, holding her in his arms.

Lily sniffed. "I don't want to lose you," she whispered, the tears still gathering in her big emerald eyes.

James smiled. "You won't. I'll make sure of that. I'll visit you… I'll fly over to your house as much as I can!" he said, his eyes lighting up.

Lily shook her head and smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. "James…" she sighed. "It's a nice thought, but…"

"But what? Come on, Lily, you know your parents will love me. And who cares about your sister?" James laughed and spun Lily around the room. "Oh Lily. This isn't the end. We've only just begun."

---

_One year afterwards _

"Oh, you bloody git. That's beautiful!"

"She's gonna love it, James."

"I must concur, Prongs. It's a fine specimen of a rock, if I do say so myself."

"Yeah, isn't it? Took me three paychecks, plus I had to baby-sit the Weasley kids twice." James looked haunted by the memory, but the gem he held in his hand seemed well worth it. "I can only hope she says yes."

"Oh please!" scoffed Sirius, grabbing the ring and slipping it on his own finger, looking it over. "You're in love!"

James raised an eyebrow and _Accio_ed his ring back as he said, "Yeah, by the way, never do that again."

Remus and Peter nodded in agreement. "I agree with James," said Peter.

Sirius looked flabbergasted. "What?! But what if me and Cass decide to get hitched?" he protested.

There was a moment of silence, and then laughter. "You? Commit?" chuckled Remus. "Thanks for the laugh, Sirius, I needed that."

Sirius looked a little dejected. "…You've gotten mean, Moony," he said quietly.

"…Don't tell me you were being _serious_!"

"Well, that's my name, isn't it?" snapped Sirius lightly.

The others stared at Sirius for a moment and cleared their throats. "You know what…? One engagement at a time," said Peter.

"Yeah," said James. "I'll see you lot later." He smiled and waved slightly and then Apparated into thin air.

"…She's gonna say no…"

--

"James, I don't feel well. I don't want to go out," sniffled Lily, who had a bad cold. Her eyes were red and puffy and she was pale and sounded all stuffed up. "Tomorrow, OK?"

James sighed. "No, Liilllyyy…" he pleaded. "I'll take care of you." He took her hand and kissed it. "Please? I just want to spend some time with you."

Lily sighed and smiled, but that fell quickly. "I want soup," she ordered.

James grinned. "You know what's funny, Lils?" he asked at he came inside and closed the door.

"What's that?" asked Lily.

"We both want something right now." James reached in his pocket. "You want soup…" He held out the ring, quickly getting down on one knee and taking Lily's hand. "And I want you to marry me."

There was a long silence. And then…

"I'm hallucinating, right?"

James laughed and shook his head. "Nope, you aren't."

"No?" said Lily. "Then yes. I'll be glad to marry you, James. Just get me my soup."

"At your service, sweetie."

_Fini._

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I know the ending wasn't big and romantic. 

That's how it was supposed to be. :)


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